Heather Eats Almond Butter » Uncategorized

All Good Things Must Come To An End

HEAB — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 18:49:40 +0000

Like my car…

Yep, The Beater was in a minor fender bender this morning. Thankfully, no one was injured, but the car is totaled. Time for that minivan, huh?

Another thing that must come to an end for the time being is this blog. It’s been an amazing 3 1/2 years, but it’s time for me to concentrate on other things…

We’ll be back someday. I just really want to spend these next few months before the twins arrive fully focused on CD, Summer, and the pups. Thanks for all your love and support over these last few years. I love you guys.

Bye-bye.

A Dinner Inspired Breakfast

HEAB — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 18:51:30 +0000

A good friend recently sent me her favorite fish recipe. Chris and I ate it for dinner a few nights ago, and now it’s our favorite fish recipe. It was so easy to make and only took about 10 minutes. Thanks friend!

Broiled Cod Parmesan with black bean crema

Ashley is currently transferring her blog to a new host, and if you can’t access her black bean crema recipe, it should be up shortly. So please try again soon – so good. Oh, and regarding the fish recipe, I was going to sub sour cream for the mayo but completely forgot to add it. Totally not necessary as the fish still turned out great!

The above dinner inspired the next morning’s breakfast as I could not get the savory goodness of Parmesan cheese out of my head…

Cheesy Oat Bran Custard

Bring 1/2 cup oat bran + 1 cup water + pinch of salt to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about a minute, stirring constantly. Add one egg and continue cooking & stirring over low heat until egg is cooked through (watch for the cooked whites). Remove from heat and stir in a 1/2 TBSP butter. Top with Parm and hot sauce. Devour.

Belly was very happy.

The Twins’ Room

HEAB — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 20:06:42 +0000

Well, nursery #2 is all ready. When we decorated Summer’s room, we kept everything gender neutral so that we could use it again for future children. However, Summer won’t be vacating her room for a while, and so we transformed our guest room into a room for the twins. We wanted to go ahead and get everything in place so that I can get plenty of rest during my last few months of pregnancy. When looking for nursery inspiration, it was really helpful to read where all items were purchased. So, I’ve listed the details below each photo.

Cribs – the Gulliver Crib from IKEA.
Dresser – the Hemnes 8-Drawer Dresser from IKEA.
Girl’s Bedding – Bananfish Migi Little Tree from Amazon.
Boy’s Bedding – Bananafish Migi Little Whale from Amazon.
Lamp, changing pad, and changing pad cover all from Target.
Paintings above cribs – I purchased two canvases from Michael’s and painted them myself using the crib quilts as inspiration.
Bird mobile hanging from ceiling fan was a gift from a fellow blogger.
The paint color on the walls is Behr Natural Grey, and yes, it’s available in No-VOC paint (although our painter isn’t a fan of Behr paint and simply matched the color to a different brand).

Curtains – Pottery Barn Kids Mini Dot Panels with Blackout Liner in Grey (A gift from Nonna. Thanks Mom!)
The painted unit used to house an old TV but now holds all the baby blankets.
The storage baskets are all from Target. The smaller ones were on clearance a couple of weeks ago, and the two larger baskets are from the Smith & Hawkin line.
The chair is on loan from my mom…although it’s been a part of our guest room for a while now. Since it matches, we decided to keep it in the twins’ room until we move them upstairs. For the first several months, we plan to keep the babies down in the master bedroom with us. So, we’re moving the LaZBoy from Summer’s room downstairs to use as a rocker/glider and will then put it in the twins’ room once they start sleeping upstairs.

The best advice I ever received regarding nursery furniture was to get a LaZBoy recliner instead of a rocker or glider. I can’t tell you how nice it was during those middle-of-the-night sessions with Summer, and we often reclined back and took naps together in it during the day. It’s big and comfy and is perfect for a breastfeeding pillow as well. Plus, you can use it again in another room when you’re done rocking babies. Thanks again to all of you who told me to go for the recliner. So glad we did!

This old entertainment center was left behind by a friend when she moved from Nashville to Seattle, and I happily claimed it. It’s old and the paint is chipping, but I love it. Again, we’re storing baby and swaddling blankets in the spot where the TV used to live. There are a lot of blankets shoved in there, and it wasn’t very pleasing to the eye. So, I bought some fabric and made a curtain using the no-sew method. Yes, I ironed, and it was really easy! The brushed nickel curtain rod and rings are from Target.

We thought it would be nice to have a bed in the twins’ room, and so we swapped out the double bed that used to be a part of our guest room with an old twin bed we had stored out back. The bedding is all from Target, except for the alphabet pillow which was another gift from Nonna. The nightstand consists of two crates I purchased at Michael’s years ago, and the bedside lamp is from Target.

So, that’s it. I’m really pleased with how the room came together, and I hope the twins will be happy in it.

P.S. For all my fellow Nashvillians, we hired ModerNash to pick up our IKEA furniture in Atlanta. They were great to work with, and I highly recommend them! No affiliation with the company, we were just really pleased with their services.

Quick & Tasty Fish

HEAB — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:10:43 +0000

A few weeks ago, Foodbuzz contacted me with an offer to sample Mrs. Paul’s and Van de Kamp’s ParchmentBake Fish. Since I’ve been trying to eat more fish, I thought, Sure, why not? A few days later, some free coupons for the products arrived on my doorstep as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program.

I decided to try both the Classic Grilled Tilapia and the Garlic Butter Tilapia. First up was the Classic Grilled. Preparation could not have been more simple: place parchment bag containing fish and sauce on baking sheet and bake 22 to 24 minutes.

It comes out of the oven all puffed up…

That’s it. I opted for 24 minutes, and I was afraid I overcooked it since some of the fish stuck to the parchment paper. I ate it atop a bed of steamed chopped broccoli with hot sauce. Yes, I’m craving broccoli again…just have to make sure CD is at work when I steam it.

The fish was definitely not overcooked. It smelled great and tasted delicious. The sauce had a mild flavor, and the fish came out moist and flaky. Perfect.

I love lox and cream cheese on bagels…so why not Garlic Butter tilapia and cream cheese? Yep, the bagels have been restocked.

For the above fish, I went with 22 minutes, and this time, nothing stuck to the parchment paper. However, I didn’t like the flavor as much as the Classic Grilled. It was quite garlicky, and the fish didn’t taste as fresh.

What I really liked about the Mrs. Paul’s ParchmentBake fish was the ease of preparation along with the taste for the most part. What I didn’t like was the long list of ingredients – I’m more of a simple girl when it comes to fish. A little butter and a splash of lemon is all I really need.

P.S. And just so you know, Mrs. Paul’s Crunchy Fish Sticks are really good with mustard.

Out of Bagels

HEAB — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 18:41:16 +0000

I ran out of my beloved everything bagels earlier this week and decided to bust open the huge box of Kashi blueberry waffles I bought at Costco a few weeks ago. During my last toaster waffle phase, many of you told me that Kashi makes an excellent waffle (but they’re hard to find!), and so when I saw spied them in the freezer aisle, into the cart they went. Yes, I’m willing to buy in bulk if you guys say it’s good.

First Kashi waffle experience…

Topped one with whipped cream cheese and the other with peanut butter <–YUM.

Today, I went a different route and made my first ever wafflewich…which I’ve been meaning to try for years. ’Bout time HEAB!

A savory sweet combo of blueberry waffles, scrambled egg, melted provolone, and maple syrup. Scarfed it down. My first wafflewich, but definitely not my last!

I’d put the Kashi frozen waffles right up there with Eggo (the best in my opinion). Van’s texture if just too funky – they never get crisp on the outside – too cakey, but maybe that’s just because I’ve only tried their gluten free versions. So, that’s my waffle rant for the day. Bye now.

A Colorless Lunch

HEAB — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 19:40:44 +0000

This is why I haven’t been blogging about food much…

My meals are ugly and colorless (except for maybe the buffalo wing sauce). Pictured above is the 1st course of today’s lunch: chopped turkey burger with provolone and sauce.

2nd course…

Toasted everything bagel with whipped cream cheese. I like to tear apart the bagel and smear it around in the leftover wing sauce. Seriously, why do I only consume bagels when pregnant?!? They are so freakin’ good!

So, to make up for my unphotogenic lunch, here is a painting I worked on while eating…

Happy Weekend!

Today

HEAB — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 01:11:01 +0000

A walk through the neighborhood. Everything is starting to bloom…

During nap time, I painted…

There was also frozen yogurt with a dear friend who has moved to Chicago and had a baby since we last saw each other. Justine, I’ve missed you!

Dearest Sweet Cece’s, I’m really bummed you no longer offer the Buy One Get One Free deal for mamas-to-be.

It was a busy but fun day, and now I am off to bed…at 7 PM. Night.

P.S. For the month of March, iHerb is offering an $8 discount for all first time orders with the coupon code EME542. It’s a great site if you’ve never shopped there. It’s where I buy all of my vitamins, supplements, gluten free flours, brewer’s yeast, body products, and Justin’s nut butters! Plus, shipping is free in the U.S. for orders over $20, and they offer great international shipping rates as well. Happy Shopping.

In The Meantime…

HEAB — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 14:46:31 +0000

In-between trying to get the twins’ room ready, trying to rest whenever I can, and trying to eat every few hours (still hating food for the most part), I don’t really have much time to blog. So, in the meantime, be sure to check out Mama Pea’s recipe for Chocolate Almond Butter Cups…something I am definitely not hating!

Thanks for sending Mama Pea. They were a huge hit!

Goodwill Frame Project

HEAB — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 16:19:29 +0000

A few months ago, I bought several photo frames at Goodwill. I should have taken before pictures of them (they were old blah brown wood but only $.99 each), and here are some of the finished products…

The two front frames came from Goodwill, and the other two are actually craft frames from Michael’s .

First, I spray painted the one below with spray paint leftover from this project. Easy.

Next up, I painted several layers of paint on the following frame alternating between yellow and white. I then roughed it up with some sandpaper and finished it off with a tiny bit of brown acrylic paint mixed with clear gloss.

For the Michael’s frame, I covered the first one in tissue paper that came with an Anthropologie purchase. Just cut the tissue paper into squares and brush onto frame in overlapping layers with a glue + water mixture. Again, finish off with a coat of clear gloss. I also painted the sides and back of the frame with brown acrylic paint.

The above three frames took less than an hour of to make, not counting drying time. The yarn covered frame took a while longer, and you can read more about it here.

Now I have four new frames all ready for Emily’s future pictures of the twins.

One Minute Flourless Muffin

HEAB — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:56:45 +0000

Looks like chocolate coral reef, no? A brown sponge maybe?

The above recipe was sent me to me by a reader (thanks Anita!). You can find the original recipe here along with several different versions, including blueberry and walnut. I wanted chocolate.

One Minute Flax Muffin

Ingredients

1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 egg
1 tsp butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 tsp maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a large mug and microwave for 50 seconds. Pops right out – you don’t even need to grease the mug.

Eat warm and top with ice-cream.